In addition to preparing for the plenary session starting on Monday 17 April, the Conference of Presidents of the European Parliament’s political groups (CoP) will discuss, on Thursday 13 April, new guidelines to formalise and streamline relations between the European Parliament and representatives of third countries, such as the participation of diplomats or NGOs from the countries concerned in European Parliament events or the sending of official parliamentary missions outside the EU.
Made at the request of the political groups, these proposals by European Parliament President Roberta Metsola seek to strike a balance between maintaining an open and accessible democratic institution while taking into account the need to increase vigilance against possible foreign interference, in light of the alleged scandal of corruption of MEPs by third countries such as Qatar and Morocco that broke out at the end of 2022.
The CoP will consider the specific situation of certain third countries. First of all, Russia and Belarus, sanctioned by the EU in particular because of the Russian military aggression against Ukraine, with which the European Parliament no longer maintains official relations until further notice.
China adopted sanctions in April 2021 against MEPs, including members of the Sub-Committee on Human Rights, for denouncing human rights violations in Xinjiang (see EUROPE 12708/6). Since the beginning of 2023, Iran has sanctioned several MEPs who have denounced the regime’s repression of Iranian women (see EUROPE 13107/26, 13128/27).
Faced with such a situation, the Parliament cannot remain without reacting without necessarily putting an end to all types of official contacts. The maintenance of relations could therefore depend on the nature of the persons involved (diplomats, civil society representatives) and the event organised. It could also be subject to conditions such as the acceptance by the Chinese or Iranian authorities that sanctioned MEPs can represent the European Parliament during missions to China or Iran.
In the case of countries such as Qatar and Morocco, where there are suspicions of MEP corruption, the political group leaders could suggest that maintaining relations be assessed on a case-by-case basis according to the advantages and disadvantages of such links.
Any decision taken concerning the European Parliament’s relations with a third country would be temporary and therefore subject to periodic review, in particular to ascertain the lifting of sanctions against MEPs or in the light of court rulings in the scandal involving Qatar and Morocco.
On Monday 17 April, the European Parliament Bureau will endorse a previous decision on the six-month waiting period that MEPs must observe after their term in office before lobbying for interest groups, which must be entered in the European transparency register (see EUROPE 13141/23).
Other decisions are expected to concern: - controls on interest groups and in particular the obligation to register them in advance with the European Transparency Register in order to participate in parliamentary activities; - access to the premises of the European Parliament for former MEPs. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)